■ Russia
Chechen insurgent surfaces
After at least two years without being seen in public, a Chechen guerrilla commander reappeared Friday on a videotape in which he vowed to continue the war in Russia. But the commander, Shamil Basayev, apparently seeking to make a claim of containing the long-simmering war, pledged to refrain from terrorist acts in other nations. The video was received Friday by Al-Jazeera, a TV network in Qatar. Basayev has claimed responsibility for the siege at a Moscow theater in 2002 that ended with the deaths of more than 120 hostages. More recently, Basayev took responsibility for the assassination of Chechen President Akhmad Kadyrov.
■ Kenya
Africa talks target Sudan
Heads of dozens of African states are set to endorse long-term security projects at a summit this week, as the crisis in Sudan emerges as a crucial test case for the credibility of the new African Union. When the summit starts tomorrow, "we are expecting to get the go-ahead for ... the establishment of the African Standby Force," said Sam Ibok, the group's peace and security director. By 2010, the force is supposed to have five brigades and financial and material support from the EU, UN and US. An African non-aggression pact is also on the agenda.
■ United States
Workplace gun victim dies
A man who was seriously wounded Friday in a shooting spree at a Kansas City meatpacking plant has died, police said Saturday. The gunman, identified by police as Elijah Brown, 21, an employee of the ConAgra Foods plant, shot and killed four of the victims Friday in the plant's cafeteria and then shot and killed himself. A ConAgra worker said Brown recently had fought with some of the employees who were shot and had been reprimanded. Other employees said Brown felt teased and picked on by his colleagues. Reports said a sign is posted at the entrance to the ConAgra plant that says no guns are allowed in the plant.
■ United States
Actor faces sex charge
Actor Jeffrey Jones, best known for playing the high school principal in the 1980s comedy Ferris Bueller's Day Off, is accused of failing to register as a sex offender. Jones, 57, pleaded no contest last July to a felony charge of employing a 14-year-old boy to pose for explicit photos. The actor was sentenced to five years' probation and ordered to register as a sex offender and undergo counseling. Officials said Jones moved in March without register-ing. On Thursday in Sarasota, Florida, police arrested Jones and charged him with failing to register, releasing him on US$1,000 bail. Jones appeared in the new HBO series Deadwood.
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